Question of the Day

Should Trump keep Pence on the ticket in 2020?

Dean vs. KerryDemocratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, "has attracted some of the die-hard Democrats that toiled for Bill Bradley in 2000," Ryan Lizza writes in the New Republic."Eric Hauser, Bradley's former press secretary, has offered to help Dean, and Rick Ridder, a senior adviser to Bradley, is now Dean's campaign manager. It's the same at the grass-roots level. One top Democratic strategist notes that the 'shock troops of New Hampshire' that worked on the ground for Bradley are now working for Dean. On Tuesday night [at the NARAL celebration of Roe v. Wade], Dean had another little weapon in tow: Senator Jim Jeffords, a potentially handy sidekick for winning independents in New Hampshire. 'He's my man,' an excited Jeffords exclaimed. "Just as Dean is inheriting the Bradley machine, John Kerry is inheriting the Al Gore operation. 'They have the Gore staff of 2004,' says [Donna] Brazile, who, as Gore's campaign manager, ought to know. Gore veterans Jill Alper, Chris Lehane, and Michael Whouley are all on board with Kerry now. Just as Dean is the scrappy anti-establishment candidate, Kerry is emerging as the candidate of the Democratic establishment. When Gore decided not to run, a Kerry aide argued that it would hurt Dean the most because Dean needed an establishment foil to run against. Kerry is becoming that foil."Dodd and LiebermanSen. Christopher J. Dodd says he will decide soon whether to seek the Democratic nomination for president and, if not, whether he will endorse fellow Connecticut senator and presidential hopeful Joseph I. Lieberman."I very well may [support Mr. Lieberman], and, obviously, that would be a natural choice to make," Mr. Dodd said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press," in response to a question from host Tim Russert."And whether I run or not, I'm going to be deeply involved in these debates and discussions in the United States Senate or as a candidate, but I will make that decision in the next few weeks," Mr. Dodd added.Jump right inSen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, seems delighted by the prospect of even more Democratic senators jumping into their party's presidential race.Three senators John Kerry of Massachusetts, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and John Edwards of North Carolina already are in the race, and at least three others say they are thinking about it."I think all Democratic senators should run for president this year," Mr. McConnell said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press," drawing laughter from host Tim Russert and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who is considering a presidential run."Almost all of [the Democratic senators] are. The rest should get in," Mr. McConnell added.When asked what he thought of the Democratic field, Mr. McConnell said: "Growing, growing. And I think you ought to jump right in, Chris the water's fine."Mr. McConnell explained: "I think it creates an interesting dynamic, shall I say, in the Senate, Tim, to have a great number of Democrat senators running for president."Democratic boycott"The Republican Party in South Carolina is roasting Democratic presidential hopefuls who have been telling anyone who will listen outside of South Carolina, of course that they will support the NAACP-led economic boycott of the state, which has been in place since the furor over the use of the Confederate flag on state property was touched off several years ago," the anonymous Prowler writes at www.americanprowler.org."Rep. Dick Gephardt seemed to be the candidate to set the spineless standard when he refused to answer a question about the controversy while visiting South Carolina several weeks ago, but then, upon leaving the state, commented on how upsetting the Confederate flag matter really was."Sen. John Edwards, who was born and raised in South Carolina, has said he will support the economic boycott. So the question then is, which small North Carolina border town will serve as the beachhead for Democrats launching their South Carolina primary campaigns? And if a candidate's campaign headquarters aren't located in a primary state, is it fair for him to compete in its primary if it can still even be called a primary? …"The state GOP has been chasing down the Democrats' presidential hopefuls to challenge them on the boycott. 'It's our state. They're just visiting,' says a state party staffer. 'Edwards is the worst. He's home-grown and until he decided he wanted to be president never said a word about the flag. Someone has to call them on it.'#"Flagging an errorTime magazine issued the following correction late last week:"The article 'Look Away, Dixieland' [Jan. 27] stated that President George W. Bush 'quietly reinstated' a tradition of having the White House deliver a floral wreath to the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery a practice 'that his father had halted in 1990.' The story is wrong. First, the elder president Bush did not, as Time reported, end the decades-old practice of the White House delivering a wreath to the Confederate Memorial; he changed the date on which the wreath is delivered from the day that some Southern heritage groups commemorate Jefferson Davis's birthday to the federal Memorial Day holiday. Second, according to documents provided by the White House this week, the practice of delivering a wreath to the Confederate Memorial on Memorial Day continued under Bill Clinton as it does under George W. Bush."James Taranto, in his Best of the Web Today column at www.OpinionJournal.com, comments: "The question this raises is even more intriguing than the one it puts to rest. Specifically: How did Time come to make this error? Are Time reporters Michael Weisskopf and Karen Tumulty just guilty of a huge misunderstanding, or did someone plant this phony information with them in an effort to smear the president? Or, for that matter, in an effort to embarrass Time or Maureen Dowd?"Lautenberg surgerySen. Frank R. Lautenberg underwent brain surgery yesterday morning related to a skiing accident in Aspen, Colo., a month earlier, the Associated Press reports.Mr. Lautenberg, who turned 79 on Thursday, had fallen and hit his head while skiing on Ajax Mountain, said Tim Yehl, a spokesman for the senator. Mr. Lautenberg, New Jersey Democrat, had had a low-grade headache since then.He checked himself into Weil-Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital late Saturday, Mr. Yehl said. Doctors found that blood had collected in an area inside the senator's skull that required surgery to drain.Mr. Yehl said Mr. Lautenberg would need two days to recover from the procedure and should be able to return to Washington after that.The senator has skied for more than 50 years and was wearing a helmet when he was cut off by another skier and fell, Mr. Yehl said. He said Mr. Lautenberg was able to ski down the mountain afterward and continued skiing for the rest of his vacation.Daschle vs. SpringerSenate Minority Leader Tom Daschle apparently is less than enthused that TV talk-show host Jerry Springer has expressed an interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio in 2004.Mr. Springer "wouldn't be my first choice," Mr. Daschle, South Dakota Democrat, said Friday on CNN's "Inside Politics," in response to a question from host Judy Woodruff."I understand he was a mayor at one point, but I think we can do a lot better than that, and I'm sure Ohio will," Mr. Daschle added.